Tuesday, June 5, 2012

A Jewel For Tiffany

Walking across the grass I spotted a young lady sitting on a bench. She was reading what looked like a textbook. I started a conversation with her by asking directions that I needed to a nearby park. She was quick to provide them for me.

"Hey, thanks. By the way I've got something for you." I gave her a Million Dollar Bill.

"Hey I really love these. My friend has some of them." Well, since I was in Salt Lake City I knew there was a chance she might be a religious person, but still not a Christian. "She is 'of the faith'."

"Will you be going to Heaven when you die, Tiffany?" I wanted her to define her view of the afterlife for me.

"Well, yes, we believe in different levels you know." She said cautiously.

"I understand that, yes. Do you think you are good enough to get there?"

"Yes, I do, I strive to do right..."

"Have you lied?"

"Yes, I have."

"Stolen anything..even a minute on the time clock?" I asked her.

"Yes..."

We went through the Law and although she admitted to breaking many of the Commandments, Tiffany was insistent that she would be in some level of Heaven. When speaking with Mormon people it will always come down to their idea of being saved by their good works. In other words, 'I do my best and Jesus does the rest'. According to scripture this is absolutely wrong. Jesus paid it ALL.

"Tiffany we can't even add one inch to our stature according to scripture. Have you ever read that? How can we expect to even get one inch closer to Heaven with something we do?" I pulled up the Blue Letter Bible app on the phone and referenced Ephesians 2:8-9. She asked which version of the Bible I had open. According to the Mormons it must be KJV. "I have the KJV open here. Can you read this?"
I handed it to her and she read it.

"I have not read that before." She said softly.

"OK, well that clearly states that salvation is a gift of God to us. We wouldn't want to cheapen it by attempting to pay a couple pennies for it would we? That's insulting, really."

Tiffany agreed but began to shut down.

Seeing Tiffany stand up I said, "Tiffany I know you have to go, but do you know what the scriptural test for a prophet is?" I opened the Bible to Deuteronomy 18 and started reading at verse 18 and on to the end. ""But the prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die...when a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him."" Letting her see it, I asked her if she believed the scriptures.

"Yes, I do."

"Tiffany I want to ask you something respectfully and I just want you to think about it, OK?" She nodded. "Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the Temple would be built in Independence, Missouri in his lifetime?"

"Yes he did." She got a funny look on her face.

"Did it come to pass?"

"No, it didn't...but things changed!"

"God never changes, Tiffany." For this she didn't have an answer. She just stood still. "Just think about all of this, OK? Have a great day."

I walked away from Tiffany praying that God would continue to deal with her heart. Many young people are seeing the contradictions in Mormonism and they are walking away from it. That's a great thing. But what are they walking to??

According to arecent study by Advocate.com, Salt Lake City has been christened the #1 Gay City in the US. The suicide rate there is also one of the highest in the nation.

A local Pastor told me on Sunday that the spiritual warfare he is enduring is 'really bad'. He asked us to please pray for his family.

We are. I'm also praying that God will call people to this beautiful place. There are so many here who are willing to listen.